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Tuesday, August 16, 2011

Because the kitchen is typically the most used room in the house, it's extremely important to ensure that it's organized and functional for all the action that it receives! This isn't always an easy task and often times takes some patience and planning! Which explains why I received the following question from a reader, along with many other's just like it:

"Dear Jen, do you have any tips on how to organize kitchencabinets for maximum storage and efficiency? I would love to see the layout of your kitchen and behind all those cabinet doors!"

So I finally got off of my tush and went through our entire kitchen to take pictures of the insides of each and EVERY cabinet and drawer. Go big or go home I say! So I did!

First, let's start out with a little reminder of what our kitchen looks like:

Itty bitty. It is really important to live with less and really maximize the way we utilize the space we do have. I thought it might also be helpful to have a map layout of the room too?

And now for the picture tour! Hold on to your britches kids, because you're in for a wild ride!

Let's start with our pantry! {fun fact: I have a hard time typing the word, "pantry", it typically ends up as "panty", oops!} This tall cabinet holds all of our dry and canned foods, along with our snacks, breads and produce!

To really maximize our storage, we popped an organizer over the door as well!

My favorite tips for a pantry? Add a clipboard with copies of your shopping list attached, so you can quickly add anything that runs out!

I really love to use clear storage containers so I always know what we have for leftovers, fruits and veggies! And labeled bins {the freezer bins are these medium sized ones from The Container Store} make it super quick and easy to find anything we are looking for!

Above the fridge we have two smaller cabinets where we keep less used items, like our popcorn machine and special cooking oils and wines:

We turn the first corner, where we find our special kid's cabinet, where all things kid related in the kitchen get stocked:

Along with the majority of our drawer storage, including our cutlery drawer:

Our two baking drawers:

And our food packaging drawer:

I love to line my drawers with pretty paper and use clear acrylic dividers so that I stay motivated to keep the contents of the drawers to a minimum!

Next up is the stove. We have our microwave above the stove, and above that, a cabinet that we rarely see the contents of....

The next corner contains all of our dishes and cookware, since it's the area in the kitchen we are using most:

I used to keep our pots and pans in a typical kitchen cabinet, however, I found they were nearly impossible to get in and out without wanting to quit cooking before I even started, so they found a new home in the spinning lazy susan, which makes them SO much easier to find and grab! There is never harm in switching things up when something isn't working for you!

Next to all the dining storage, we have our sink. Below the sink I stash our cleaning supplies, extra rags and dishwasher pods. We also keep our recycling bin tucked out of site as well!

Right next to the sink is a small drawer that holds all of our essential dish-washing items:

Where almost done! Just a couple of cabinets left. Literally! To the left of the sink, we have more food storage! Like nuts, peanut butter and side dishes:

Since I am on the shorter side, the labeled baskets make it super easy for me to identify the contents and grab down only what I need!

And last but not least, next to our dishwasher, we have our utensil drawer:

Think about how you use your space and plan accordingly. Keep pots and pans by the stove. Keep food storage by the fridge and pantry. Keep dish-washing and cleaning supplies near the sink, etc...

Purge old food items frequently and only keep the kitchen gadgets that you really use or are multi-functional. And don't feel sad saying goodbye to those one off pieces that only get used once a year.

Clear storage for food is AWESOME for doing quick visual inventory of your supply before heading out to the grocery store! Plus, it keeps your foods fresh for longer! Win win!

Remember, once you put it all away, it's OK to change things if they are not working! If you find yourself frustrated with how something in your kitchen is functioning, switch it up! No harm done!

Any surprises or "Ah Ha!" moments? For those that had been waiting eons for this post, did this help a bit? Did it spark any additional kitchen organizing questions? What other tips do you have for keeping a super functional and organized kitchen space?

Yes this post was definitely helpful! I am redoing my pantry this week and my cabinets next week and your tips about silverware and bake ware are totally helpful. I currently have my silverware away from the diswasher and it drives me nuts!

So inspiring. I have a pull out freezer that I find absolutely impossible to organize. I'm more of a "shelf" person than a "deep abyss drawer" person, I guess. Anyway, a few questions. 1. Where did you get that lovely drawer paper? 2. Where can I find those nice sized acrylic containers that you used in places such as your junk drawer? And 3. Are your freezer organizing containers specifically made for the freezer or just regular plastic containers? THANKS!

You have the most organized "junk" drawer I've ever seen! Haha! Your kitchen looks fantastic. Back when you re-did your drawers (with the pretty paper) I was inspired to reorganize my kitchen. I love it so much more now! Now if only I could get myself to tackle the pantry...

What a great post Jen! It is really helpful to see how you grouped items together for efficiency. I really love the pull out you have in the baking cabinet. I might just have the husband install some for me.

I LOVE the way your fridge and Freezer are so organized. The bins in your freezer, are they just regular magazine bins or did you use something else? Id love to get my freezer and fridge in rder. Also, where did you get those milk jugs?? SO cute!

I'm trying to decide whether I love or hate you :) Hate you because your house is SO perfect and mine is SO not, but love your ideas. I need to reorganize my kitchen too like yours. Thanks for sharing.

You think YOU have a tiny kitchen. Mine has exactly 4 regular-sized overhead cabinets, 2 small-sized overhead cabinets (over the stove), six floor cabinets (2 of those are under the sink) and exactly TWO drawers. And a teeney-tiny pantry and unfortunately the door opens up to a wall, so you can barely reach in the pantry to get something out. I have my crock pot and blender stored in there, and I have to prop that door open with my foot so I can open the door as wide as I can so I can wedge those items in or out. I wish I had all the space you have!

OMG!!! I have more cabinets then you {sorry} but that means I have more "stuff" then you also and I don't use all of it. Yikes!!! I really need to do some hard organizing and parting with certain items. As always thanks for sharing with us. :)

Beautiful organization! I LOVE your kitchen! The freezer is especially amazing. I need to do something like that to end the inevitable avalanche that is always about to happen in mine. :-) Thanks for the inspiration!

I love those acrylic organizers... I've been snagging them here and there when I see them super cheap at TJ Maxx. What a great idea to line the bottoms of the drawers w/ pretty paper! I'll have to pin that one! I also recently switched all of my pots and pans to the lazy susan cabinet, and it is so great! I no longer have to search through the back of dark cabinets for the right pan!

I recently discovered your amazing blog and have been so inspired! I'm organizing bit by bit, tackling one area at a time. I've enjoyed reading your older posts too-so much organization goodness.

I loved getting to peek into your kitchen cabinets and drawers...wow! My favorite thing is how you used the clear bins in your freezer. I'm planning on using this idea to help prevent future frozen food avalanches :) Thanks for all your wonderful ideas!

I love this post! Very inspirational. I love the pots in the lazy susan idea! running home to do that!! I also love the milk jugs and the freezer idea, but I'm also in the deep abyss wagon aka pull out drawer freezer. Any suggestions for that?

Such a great post! I love to see where you put your stuff. I hate our kitchen as it is. We have some fantastic plans for the kitchen reno which will make the kitchen much more organized. But, you've given me so many great ideas! Thanks, lady!

This is really helpful! I just put in brand new cabinets so I'm about to start doing this in my own kitchen and I'm horrifyingly awful at organizing. I'm reading your blog very carefully, it's full of great ideas! Thank you :-)

I just love your kitchen, if only mine looked like that. The dishware that you have for the kids, is it plastic/acrylic? if so, where did you find it? I've been looking for something like that for my 2 and haven't been able to find anything!

Jen, you are truly AMAZING! I can't get over every single nook of your organized home. I love everything. Of course you are going to have to do an "answer" post cause you are going to get lots of questions....

where did you get those acrylic drawer organizers and those containers for the milk?

Love the tour! Did you install the pull our shelf or was that in your cabinets to begin with? I want to get some for my cupboards but don't know where to begin to find good ones or how to install them!

I had two big aha moments reading this. First, what a great idea to put pots & pans in the lazy susan. Why, oh, why did I never think of that! Second, love the idea of putting an organizer on my pantry door. Such a smart idea!

I would LOVE to know about your pretty paper in your drawers. Is it contact paper that you stick down or some kind of regular paper that you place in the drawers (and then keep in place how?)? Thanks for being such an inspiration!

This has inspired me to make some changes in my kitchen...starting with the pots/pans on the lazy susan. Duh! What a great idea! My biggest challenge is that I don't have a true pantry - things are in various cabinets, here there and everywhere throughout the kitchen. Hmmm...I'm sure that I could utilize the space better but I'm not sure how. Let me know if you want to come to Maine and work your magic! :)

I totally HEART your snack bin idea! My children are a bit older, and I can't believe I never thought to "unload your yummy snack foods such as pretzels and popcorn, into serving sized baggies for quick grab and go portioned snacking!" My kids are now in their very early teen years, (time does fly by) will have to start this tomorrow! :)

LOVE your organized kitchen! I'm feeling like I have too much stuff in my kitchen that I don't need. Once school starts back up I'm going to have to go thru everything and decrease my gadgets and such. Thanks for the inspiration!!

We just moved into a new place a month ago and I'm still rearranging my kitchen and seeing in other peoples pantries (me and a friend just call it panty because it's such an easy typo) is an obsession lately.

I too would love to know where you got the milk containers. They meet several criteria in a fridge container for tea that I've been looking for.

Hey Jen, just have a question. Do your boys help putting things away in your kitchen. I seem to get my kitchen organised and my girls job is to unpack the dishwasher and never keep it all in order. So I end up giving up till it all gets to much again. help what chores do your guys do and are they good at keeping things organised?

Love, love, all of your organization! The problem I have is that I have about 3 times the amount of food in my freezer due to buying in bulk. The same for spices. I am still trying to come up with ways to store everything in the large quantities I have. Any suggestions? I love having the pots and pans on the lazy susan, I moved mine there about 2 years ago and it is so easy to put everything away.

Your kitchen is amazing! You have SO many great ideas in there! I am especially impressed with your fridge! So super organized - I love/want it!I love the containers you have for the milk! Where did you get it from? I'm also curious how heavy it is when filled with milk? Does the lid fit securely?

Holy smokes, woman. You rock. So our freezer looks about the same and that might be it. You have inspired me to get rid of some things and get more organized. Did you add the lazy susan yourself? If so, where is it from? I need one as a curse each time I go to grab a pan and ten fall from a pile.

loved the way you organized your freezer!! i will definitely have to implement that. and i liked the idea of having a snack basket. with 2 kids and a hubby all marching off to school all day this fall, i already had in mind of portioning out the snacks into the snack size ziplocs and a basket is such a great way to keep the baggies together. [btw, i'm new to your blog and love it!]

Wow...my "junk drawer" looks nothing like that! Ha! I am doing a lot of organizing around my house right now and this was really inspiring! I love the idea of putting the paper in your drawers. What kind of paper is it? Would it be hard to remove when it's time to sell the house?? Thanks for sharing!

Your kitchen looks amazing! (found it on Pinterest). I am inspired to do a bit more organizing. :)

One tip, though...don't store your wine above the stove. That is the worst place to store it, since heat affects wine. I take it you aren't big drinkers from what you said, but if you have it sitting up there for months it is going to ruin it when you do end up serving it. I know most people store wine in their kitchens (generally the warmest room in the house), though. We use our built in wine rack in the kitchen to show our favorite empty bottles of wine. Before we had a wine cellar, we just stored our wine in the unfinished cool basement.

I just discovered this post through Pinterest, which I stumbled upon via Soulemama... I bow to your organizational skills and cannot WAIT to revamp my kitchen (dis)organization system! Gonna' have to spend some time looking at older posts. You've taken all of this to the next level.

I just came across your post via Pinterest. And while my kitchen is even smaller than yours (big sad face!), YOU'VE GIVEN ME HOPE! I am anxious to try to make it more organized. You use so many techniques that I want to try.

@Annette: I found the at The Container Store awhile back, I don't see the exact ones online any longer, but they have similar in white. Stainless ones can also be found at IKEA and many other kitchen stores!

Oh my goodness! I just found this amazing - A.M.A.Z.I.N.G. blog yesterday and I have already spent - hours looking through it! You are inspiring me! My hubby is out of town for work this week - he may not recognize the place when he comes home! I know I don't know you, but I am pretty sure I love you!

I pinned the pic of your fridge the other day to remind me to check out your blog. Then, I saw your clip on The Nate Berkus Show today! You have such a gift--thank you for sharing. There's a good chance that after the kids are in bed tonight, I will be emptying cabinets onto the kitchen table!

Very Nice and Inspiring! I am getting ready for a huge garage sale to be held in the Spring. Spending the whole Winter going through each room with a minimalists mindset. These types of photos are very motivating. Thanks for sharing!

I love this! My kitchen is almost identical. I've been inspired. The only problem is that Cajun girls have way more spices than you do. I'm going to have to really think about what to do with my spices.

@A. Rose, the milk containers are just glass pitchers {we purchase our milk organically, if it's not in glass bottles when we purchase, I transfer it to the glass pitchers to keep it colder and fresher for longer}.

Here is a link to the ones I use: http://www.amazon.com/Bormioli-Rocco-Frigoverre-Pitcher-Frosted/dp/B0000DE9B5?ie=UTF8&tag=iheaorga-20&link_code=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969

You are so inspiring Jen! Thank you for sharing your talents with us! I have the same problem several other ladies above have - freezer on the bottom so it's a big huge drawer (aka abyss!). How would you suggest organizing a deep freezer drawer like this? Thanks!

I would give anything to have a kitchen this big!!! It's absolutely perfect. Great job, and great inspiration. I hope I can figure out a way to translate all your good ideas into my micro size kitchen. I just don't know how to fit it all in. I think it's about half the size of yours? I may be too generous there. Any ideas???

I chuckled at your "itty bitty" comment. My kitchen is about a quarter of the size of yours. I am slightly envious! But your organization makes perfect sense even in smaller spaces. This was an "a-ha" for me: "There is never harm in switching things up when something isn't working for you!" I hate having to drag out and put away my pots and pans. My system is NOT working. I think I've found a solution and can't wait to get home to try it out! Thanks for helping a complete stranger realize there is no harm in thinking outside the kitchen box!

I am SO jealous that you can fit a knife rack in your drawer. My drawers are too shallow for that same knife rack. And all my drawers are the same depth since the only drawers I have are above the bottom cabinets.

I absolutley love your kitchen and you have definitely motivated me to get myself together and get my kitchen organized as well. I will definitely be borrowing several of your ideas for my own kitchen re-org party. Thank you so much for sharing all of your ideas with each of us.

I need to reorganize and clean out kitchen clutter and are dreading it because it is difficult for either of us to get down/get up again so I'm hoping that I can recruit my daughter and her 13 yr. to come over and help during their time off for the Christmas holidays, between Xmas and New Year's. In the meantime, I will be looking over your blog and others to get inspiration.

I love the way you have organized the freezer.I like the clear containers you used. You can see ahead of time basically what is supposed to be in them. Our pantry has pull-out drawers and I don't have enough space for everything. We downsized in 2005 and storage space is lacking. In the larger home where we lived for 27 yrs. there was so much storage space. I miss that but don't miss going up/down the 13 stairs a million times a day. It was a split foyer and there was no other way to get from one level to the next without going stairs.Physically neither of us could do it now. We have less space but everything is all on one level. We love it for that very reason. I've written down a lot of your great ideas that inspired me. Thanks for sharing!

I have several lazy susans built in the kitchen cabinets. The ones to the left of the stove are used for pots/pans,frying pans, crock pot, pressure cooker, and my stainless mixing bowls. I just looked and there is a nice pasta bowl that I don't use often that can be stored in the large garage cabinets. The flour sifter could be left in that cabinet or maybe stored in the stove drawer with the baking pans, rolling pin. Will see if there is room for it. I keep my baking pans and muffin tins,etc. in the drawer beneath the oven of our stove. Another matching lazy susan is to the right of the stove but that could be used more efficiently, plus there is another lazy susan in an upper cabinet that is not being used efficiently. The mugs go in same cabinet with everyday Corningware..the good china is in deep cabinet above the refrigerator. I have at least other sets of dishes out in the large storage cabinet we build when we came here that the china could go there but that is the set I use the most when I have company so I think it needs to stay there.Maybe I should switch the clear glass dessert dishes with the mugs and store them above the drinking glassware. I am hesitate because those shelves are glass, and the only way I'd store the mugs there is if I placed some type of shelf liner that would act as a cushion for the glass shelves. Would make it easier to unload from the dishwasher. I could move the clear glass dessert dishes elsewhere. I am thinking of a perfect place; on top shelf above the Corningware dishes. I just went out and straightened up one plastic storage container drawer and matched up lids.Set some small Tupperware containers aside..will start a box for donations to Thrift shop or another charity that calls.

I was so disappointed in this site. I thought you would help me with tips on how to organize MY KITCHEN. Not how you organized yours. It looks nice, but has little to do with my kitchen. Instead of showing off your kitchen, I wish you had taken the time to help others.

@Anonymous - sorry you were disappointed. The reason I blog and share my personal spaces, is to hopefully inspire or offer ideas and solutions you are able to implement in your own areas. We all have different sized kitchens and available storage, I am not able to touch on every single scenario, but I always love to help when asked.

I learned (from pinterest of course) that a dish drainer is an inexpensive and easy thing to store lids with.. Mine sat under the sink for 2 yrs not being used and then I seen that idea one day and now i have no problems finding lids when I need one

I just found your site from Pinterest and I wanted to take a minute to say I am so impressed with your organized kitchen and I picked up a lot of tips for MY KITCHEN. Not that I don't wish you would come and do it for me.

Nice job on the organization!! I am also an organizational nut! I was a bit more so when my kids were home. Now I'm a sandwich generation woman and am scattered more than I like. I find being organized helps in all areas of life. If I know my house is in order, I sleep better, work better and just have a better attitude. Keep up the good work. There was a time when I considered doing organizing for a living. You are doing that without making house calls. Congrats!!

I know this is an old post but i saw it when you first post it and i love the way you have your gloves hanging but I can't firnd command hooks that are clips like that. Is that what you used! also where did you get your little scrub holder in your dish drawer!love it!

A friend of mine had some leftover wallpaper that I used {it's supposed to be 100% removable when I decide to change my mind}, but you can just use simple drawer/shelf liner as well. Here is the post on the subject: http://iheartorganizing.blogspot.com/2010/10/october-featured-space-kitchen_08.html

I was happy to see that you too put your pots and pans in the lazy susan. I still use my top portion for canned food, but am having a hard time finding places for all of my lids and tops for my pans and pots to go. Any suggestions? It was difficult to see if you did anything special with the pots/pans that you "nested". I am unable to put the lids on all the designated containers because of the space.

@Chelsea, we keep our lids beneath our stove in a drawer {which is also right next to the lazy susan}. Another option that a Reader shared was to use tension rods within deep drawers to create a divider that helps hold the lids.

Oh wonderful! I may have to do a little rearranging, but I think I can make it work. I was getting tired of opening the lazy susan to pull out a canned food item or a pan and having a bazillion lids come toppling down on the floor or getting to the point where I could not close/open the lazy susan because a lid fell out of place and was preventing it from doing so! It will take some reaaranging, but I believe I can make one of the methods work. I may have to go with the tension rods because my oven drawer has all my baking sheets, muffin tins, etc. Thanks so much for sharing this. It's very difficult when you love to cook and have so many kitchen gadgets with very little space! Being organized makes life 10x easier!

WOW! I joined pinterest for the sole purpose of getting inspired and some help for my kitchen. Thank you! I can't wait to try this, thanks also for linking where you bought your shelves/containers, I never know where to start! I actually have a huge space, but it doesn't help it you don't know how to use it.

Wow, if only I could be so organized. I might have to get the baking ware organizer and I love the acrylic trays for the drawers. All of my stuff is just thrown in and I'm constantly rummaging to find what I need.

It all looks great! I have one tip for you, though. If possible, your everyday dishes should only be in stacks of like objects. IT saves you from having to move the big bowl and the 4 soup bowls, for instance, every time you want to grab a dinner plate.

My kitchen is like a Maze. I never am fully sure if I have my all the stuff I need. I am going to change that right away. Your post has given me so many ideas to transform what is a daunting task to one that is fun.

I recently discovered your blog through a pin on Pinterest of your "Home Binder" and I have been here almost everyday since. My family and I are getting ready to start the new year in a new home and I can hardly wait to start organizing! Thanks for the inspiration!

REorganizing my kitchen is on my list of things to do in 2012. This post was helpful to see how someone else seems to logically think through their kitchen. I'll be back for more inspiration as I get myself neck-deep in the process!

WOW! This is the first post of yours I've read and your kitchen is incredible... I'm blown away by your talent for organizing. I'm going to have to look through some more posts for more helpful goodies.I bet your kitchen seems small, but it's much much bigger than any kitchen I've ever had, wow!

That looks fabulous, I am so jealous of that totally organized kitchen! Just wanted to let you know that I'm featuring it on my "Top 10 Organized Spaces" post! Feel free to drop by and grab a button that shows that you were featured!

You must not bake cookies! I didn't see any cookie sheets or large brownie pans in your cupboards. I use my lazy susan for all my casserole dishes & bowls. THanks for the freezer idea- love it- now on my list! love your blog.

Wow I wish my kitchen looked this pretty and organized! I am working on it. I am wondering about the containers you use for the freezer. Are the specifically made for the freezer storage?I have used just plastic bins from dollar store in past and they break and become real brittle in no time.

Wondering too if you might have a deep freeze ? I have one and I cannot for the life of me figure out how to make it easier to organize.

I am having a sweet Shabby Apple giveaway over at my blog- would love for you to come and sign up to win!

Okay so you are now one of my favorite blogs to follow. I love to organize and dejunk so this is right up my alley. Found you through Pinterest. You rock. Here are a couple of my ideas: Over the door clear shoe organizer for the pantry to store all those little items that get lost like cupcake papers, wooden skewers, birthday candles, sauce mixes, jello boxes, etc. Also good in your linen closet for toothbrushes, toothpaste, cotton balls and swabs, hotel shampoos, etc.

They were from Pier 1 awhile back. They have since been discontinued, however, I just saw these ones that are equally as adorable: http://gifts.redenvelope.com/gifts/floral-measuring-cups-30049417?ref=REDorganicgglgeneric_&amp;viewpos=21&amp;trackingpgroup=rentr&amp;affiliateid=Skimlinks&amp;network=gaff&amp;sitetarget=Skimlinks&amp;matchtype=Text&amp;adtext=&amp;clickid=0004b739ed9dde6b0a2a7d88108e5444

Hi Jen,I was wondering if you would have ideas for a corner cabinet. My sink sits kind of at an angle that gives me a corner cabinet above my sink where right now I have my bigger corning ware like for casseroles and lids as well as some tupperware containers that I can freeze food in and then also use to microwave. I would love to oraganize this cabinet with maybe some shelves. Do they make anything for a corner cabniet or do you have other ideas for this? Thanks so much.

What wonderful organization. Wish I could pick your brain for my kitchen. I have no pantry, and only 3 drawers. Wish I had a cabinet for baking, wow that would be helpful.Thanks for the ideas, I'll find ways to adapt.

Question: We have an odd cabinet with a lot of space back under the counter (not easy to get to) any ideas on how to utilize this space? I've seen newer houses utilize this space for a large lazy susan, but that would require remodeling the cabinets.

I'm inspired! =) but the biggest problem in our house is my mom who doesn't want to sell/throw stuff that's not in use anymore, especially the old ones. We have a LOT of unwanted stuff at home and just seeing it around our house make me sick, every time I clean/organize our house it will always go back to its old state. How I wish I can make our kitchen that organized =).

I know you probably don't have time to read comments on old posts such as these, but your kitchen has left me drooling! I'm finding it the hardest place to get organized because I have such little space and such a small budget. (My new family of two is quickly growing to three and I am staying at home to keep healthy and take care of Emma when she is born) Do you have any tips on organizing small spaces with a VERY limited budget?

Jen, I love your great ideas. The best part...my kitchen is designed a lot like yours. I plan to borrow some of your great organizing ideas for my kitchen. I wonder where you bought the rug shown in one of the pics. I have been looking for one with that shade of green everywhere and the one that you have would work perfectly...thanks for your great info

Your kitchen... heck your whole house is so wonderfully organized. One comment asked what to do with lids. I took my old pampered chef piece (a wood piece with pegs) for my lids instead of the stoneware, which is how they marketed it. Seriously, you are so inspiring.

I love your kitchen cabinet tour!! I'm organizing my pantry, and need an organizer for the back of my door that doesn't go all the way down. The link to yours on Amazon shows one that goes all the way down the back of the door. Did you just cut it to make it the size you wanted?

Thanks for sharing! When I first saw the kitchen I thought "Wow! That IS itty bitty! How could you possibly fit everything in there!?!" But after seeing everything it just reminds me that it is time for some serious purging. The secret to getting it all to fit, is just having less stuff.

ahhh!!! i love your kitchen!!! now i am inspired again to make mine look better... the outside looks awesome but i need to work on making the inside organized..i love, love that pretty paper that you used under your drawer - thanks a lot for the idea!!

Our kitchen is laid out the EXACT same way...No really, exactly, maybe even the exact same square footage too! It's tiny, but super functional actually. I love all your tips on organizing, ESPECIALLY since it applies perfectly to me!

Hi, Jen! I visited your blog from a picture on Pinterest of your wonderfully organized pantry. I loved reading the rest of your post about how your kitchen is organized. I noticed we have the same fridge, though mine is black. I laughed that you have a "junk drawer" (not!) And I have a similar lazy susan corner cabinet that currently houses all sorts of stuff I rarely use (like crock posts, blender, mixer...) and my pans are actually in a bottom cabinet next door to it, and it does not WORK! I am so with you about how badly the cabinet was working for your pans. I'm taking a hint from you and moving my pans to the lazy susan cabinet and moving the crock pots and lesser used items to the bottom cabinet! I KNOW the lazy susan will work really well for the pans. I have been on a organizing kick in my kitchen this week, and look forward to making more changes. I've organized my pantry, cleaned and reorganized the fridge, and took all the spices that were jumbled up in a top drawer in my pantry cabinet (I've always tried to keep that drawer organized and it never has worked) and now I've put all the spices in a drawer next to my stove...they are all laying face up and I've already discovered how perfect they are being right next to the stove when I'm cooking! I'm going to go organize my pans now, but I just wanted to leave you a note to say "Thank you!" for sharing your organized kitchen with us.

Your kitchen has a very similar layout to my own, making your tips oh so helpful! The only problem is, I have way more stuff in my cabinets than you do!!! I thought I might share some of my own solutions for those of us who don't seem to let go so easily of all those extra items. My kitchen is filled with thoughtful gifts from well-meaning family and friends from my recent wedding, and I seriously over-registered! Since my "kitchen tools" drawer is so full, I lined it with a rubberized cabinet liner and organized the tools in a divided tray with some extra space surrounding it. The rubberized liner keeps items in place even when busy hands slam the drawers and solved my "not enough slots in the organizer" problem. My mixing spoons, spatulas, and other everyday-use serving items are housed in a pretty porcelain pitcher next to the stove (I reserve the crock for everyday-use items so I don't have to worry about dust and other yuck). I saw someone posted a comment somewhere about lining the sides of the drawers-I line drawers that contain messy items (toothpaste/toothbrushes in the bathroom, my cake decorating supplies and food colorings in the kitchen, etc) with contact paper and I do line the sides. If something decides to explode or spill all I have to do is peel out the paper and re-line the cabinet!

Recently, a friend recommended your blog. I read it daily now as well as reading old posts. I LOVE the lazy susan idea for pots and pans. It's take "an act of congress" to get to my pots and pans each day so I am making the switch TOMORROW. Thank you so much!

What kind of fridge do you have? I think mine is the same; just thinking in terms of totally copying you and organizing my own fridge ;) I feel encouraged to pare down and reorganize my kitchen now too--I've done it a couple of times but my placement of things just isn't quite right yet. (We have a couple of cabinets that are odd shapes and sizes--trying to figure out how best to use them.) Thanks for the inspiration!

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